Stolen: Shibusen's Weapons Find New Meisters?
by TV Manic 2
Summary: A mysterious organisation plots against Shibusen, stealing the student weapons to strengthen their own armoury. The meisters fight back, but can they win without their partners?
1. A New Threat

**Soul Eater -:- Manga Verse**

**Stolen: Shibusen's Weapons find New Meisters?**

**Summary: **

A mysterious organisation plots against Shibusen, stealing the student weapons to strengthen their own armoury. The meisters fight back, but can they win without their partners?

**Disclaimer: **Not mine.

**Author's Notes:**

Is set after the current manga plot arc

In essence, this fic is a filler chapter, and as such is not overly serious. I usually write angst but I'm gonna give light humour a go...

FYI: A Tessen is an iron fan, a chinese weapon I think...

All the stuff in bold italics is Death the Kid who is narrating

Enjoy!

* * *

**C****hapter**** O****ne**** -:- A N****ew**** T****hreat**

_**Among meisters there are those with a rare ability that allows them to be compatible with almost any weapon by adapting and matching their soul's wavelength. This phenomena is quite unusual and not inkeeping with Shibusen's traditional meister/weapon partnership. Not too long ago this led to the formation of a group of self-proclaimed Multi-Weapon Meisters; or The Multi-Meisters for short. Working from the shadows this absurdly-named group managed to do the unthinkable:**_

_**Steal nearly **_**all**_** of Shibusen's demon weapons.**_

-:-

**T****he**** C****ollectors**

-:-

The building was a rabbit warren of corridors on the inside, leaving the outside a higgledy-piggledy mess of random shapes. Mismatched windows were dotted around, allowing minimal light to enter. The front door was impossible to find unless you already knew where it was. The surrounding garden was an overgrown jungle, burying the building and cutting it off from the outside world. It was the perfect hide-out

The perfect hideout for The Multi-Meisters.

"Damn this stupid weapon!" shouted an irritated Multi-Meister. Diego was a drainpipe of a man with a tall and skinny frame. His blonde hair was short and his grey eyes glared with arrogance-fuelled animosity. He threw the uncooperative weapon to the floor and stormed off into a corner. Another Multi-Meister stepped forward to take her turn. "If I can't do it there's no chance you can Nadia. There's no point trying."

Nadia just raised her two perfectly-sculpted eyebrows at him and picked up the weapon. She spread the Tessen into its fan shape, the iron blades catching the light, then placed her other hand on her hip. She closed her eyes to aid concentration, and then tried in vain to match her soul's wavelength. She yelped in pain when all she received for her efforts was a nasty burn. The Tessen dropped to the floor and Nadia gave a conceited sigh. "Resonating with this weapon is impossible."

"Told you so," Diego retorted, giving Nadia, then the Tessen, a disgusted look. "It wasn't even worth the effort to steal this one."

"Commandeer," Itsuki, the leader, corrected. He stepped forward, collecting the abandoned weapon. He snapped the fan closed and studied its club-like form. "Why does it refuse to return to its human form, I wonder? It truly is a stubborn and temperamental soul. And I had such high hopes for this one."

Itsuki handed the Tessen to another Multi-Meister, gesturing over his shoulder down another corridor. Nadia blinked, slightly confused. "Wait, we're locking it up? Is it worth it?"

"I say we destroy it," Diego piped in, obviously volunteering for the task.

Itsuki shook his head. "If it were in human form I'd agree with you, but it's too much hassle to destroy it in weapon form. We'll lock it away for now and focus on the bigger targets." Itsuki grinned like a Cheshire cat. "I want a Death Scythe."

"Yeah right, I'll just go get you one," Nadia sarcastically replied.

Diego smirked at her. "You saying you couldn't do it?"

"I'm saying it can't be done," Nadia flicked her hair impatiently. "They're elite and powerful, which is why Itsuki wants one, but that's also why he can't have one. They're not gonna fall for the separate-and-grab technique we used on those gullible students."

"Ah, but one of the Death Scythes _is_ a student," Itsuki pointed out, his grin growing wider. "And I have found just the person to help us get him. Everyone, meet Tabby Malone."

A door to the side opened on cue to reveal a girl wrapped in a long, black trench coat with wild red hair and dark brown eyes. She took one hand out her pocket and gave a little wave, a smile on her face.

"I can get you Soul Eater."

* * *

_**Soul was not The Multi-Meisters' first target. A week before this Tabby character got involved, half of Shibusen's weapons had already been taken. Kilik lost Fire and Thunder, and Ox lost Havar; but one meister refused to believe his weapon could ever be taken...**_

**-:-**

**O****ne**** W****eek**** E****arlier**

**-:-**

The blue-haired ninja assassin threw back his head and laughed. A rather irritated Ox pushed his glasses up his nose and glared at Black Star. "This is serious Black Star! I've just lost my partner, and you could too just as easily!"

"That's never gonna happen!" Black Star cockily replied. He reclined back in his seat and smiled smugly. "I'm the man who will surpass God! And Tsubaki is the weapon I'm gonna make into a Death Scythe. There's no way anyone could steal my partner! I'm just better than you!"

Ox sighed, obviously not getting through to the egomaniac. "I really hope you're right Black Star. Be careful on your mission."

"It's time to go Black Star," Tsubaki called over while waving her arm. Black Star propelled himself to his feet and flipped over the desk, purely because he could. He joined up with Tsubaki, then gave Ox a thumbs up before disappearing through the classroom doors.

**Dracula's Castle, Pennsylvania**

"Tsubaki! Shuriken Mode!"

With a puff of smoke and a flash of blue Black Star went from holding a ninja sword to a large shuriken. The vampire opposite him didn't seem at all bothered by the sudden morph. It just bared its fangs with a hiss and crouched ready to strike. Black Star easily aimed and accurately threw the weapon, catching the vampire mid-leap, slicing it in half.

"Hehe," Black Star smirked, catching Tsubaki as she flew back to him. She returned to ninja sword mode. "Easy."

"Black Star," Tsubaki's voice echoed threw her metal form. "There are more nearby, don't relax yet."

"Let's go Tsubaki," the blue-haired boy replied, running off in the general direction of the castle. The only way to get to the ancient structure was to find a way through the thick maze. This didn't prove a problem to Black Star who just broke straight through the hedges. The man who will surpass God does not take an indirect route.

Dracula had seemed to notice Black Star's fast approach and had scattered his minions throughout the greenery in order to slow the loudmouthed assassin down. Another one threw itself in Black Star's path, leaping from the hedge and landing with a growl. It didn't even finish its intimidation before Black Star cut him down.

Further along the path a whole gang of vampire minions had gathered. Black Star didn't even slow as Tsubaki wordlessly returned to Shuriken mode. With one throw Tsubaki sliced through the creatures, arcing back round to return to her meister.

The sound of a metallic clink stopped Black Star dead in his tracks. A blur smacked into Tsubaki and messed up her trajectory, sending her soaring over Black Star where she disappeared into the maze. "Tsubaki!"

Black Star made to charge through the hedge in the direction he had seen Tsubaki fly, but a lanky man appeared in his path. Diego smiled with an arrogance that rivalled Black Star's. Three more Multi-Meisters materialised behind him so that he was surrounded. He glared at Diego, anger making his hands shake until he clenched them into fists. Suddenly Tsubaki's scream reverberated around the gardens. "GET OUT OF MY WAY!"

Diego blocked Black Star's charge with his newly claimed weapon: Havar. He swung the staff around so that the bolt-shaped point was in Black Star's face. Before he could dodge, Diego released Havar's lightening attack, electrocuting him. The attack threw Black Star into the path of another Multi-Meister who wielded Fire and Thunder. He received two attacks in quick succession, but managed to recover in time to deal back one of his own: "Black Star Big Wave!"

The Multi-Meister was thrown back into a hedge, and then slumped to the ground. Black Star then turned on the next nearest target, taking him out before he had a chance to use his stolen weapon. Before he could take out Diego and the remaining Multi-Meister however, a flare lit up the sky.

Diego smirked at Black Star "We'll continue this some other time."

"I'm going to kill you." Black Star promised. The Multi-Meisters quickly retreated as Black Star charged through the hedges in the direction he had seen the flare. By the time he reached the clearing Tsubaki was already gone. Stolen.

A whole herd of Vampire minions leapt into the clearing, surrounding the weaponless Black Star. The cocky ninja assassin looked around at the sheer volume of teeth and claws

"Crap."

-:-

_**Black Star was forced to eat his words as yet another weapon fell into the Multi-Meisters possession. It seemed that Shibusen's meisters were incapable of protecting their weapons...I was no exception...**_

-:-

**A Werewolf's Lair, Colorado**

"I hate creepy places," Liz muttered as the trio made their way through the cave. She wrapped her arms around herself and shivered. "Why's it so damned cold?" She received nothing but silence from her meister and Patti offered her usual incoherent ramblings. "Kid?" More silence. "What is it this time?"

"N-nothing," Kid replied, berating himself for thinking about the picture frame again. He tried to push the paranoia out of his mind, but the nagging feeling that it was slanted kept bugging him. "It's just...nothing."

"Good, we need to be focused for this mission," Liz instructed. "We need to get this done as quickly as possible so that we can get out of this eerie place."

They continued onwards for another few minutes before Kid finally cracked. "I can't handle this! What if the picture frame is slanted? It would destroy the symmetry completely! I'm gonna go back and check..."

"Wait! Kid!" Liz yelled, but her meister was already gone. She sighed and made to follow him, but a shadowed figure stepped into her path.

"Well this makes our job easier."

**Kid's Mansion**

Kid sighed with relief as he admired the picture frame before him. He double checked the candles had melted correctly to completely preserve the balance.

"The beauty of symmetry."

-:-

_**By time I returned to Colorado, both Liz and Patti had already been taken as well. It seemed that Shibusen was in a major predicament; but at least we still had our Death Scythes.**_

* * *

**A****n**** O****ld**** F****riend**

-:-

A week had passed since both Black Star and Kid's partners had been kidnapped. As such Maka was in a state of over-protective panic, the thought of Soul also being taken scaring her to death.

Soul lay sprawled on his bed, sentenced by Maka to house arrest, for his own protection. He stared at the ceiling, enjoying one of the few moments he was allowed to have to himself since Maka had decided to permanently keep an eye on him. He felt smothered by her constant presence; Soul liked to have some time alone.

He read the letter again. It seemed safe enough. The girl was an old friend from before he had enrolled at Shibusen; she was in town on business and wanted to see him. He looked at the clock. She wanted to meet in half an hour. Decided, Soul swung himself off of the bed and headed to the window. As quietly as possible he pushed it open and put his foot on the sill.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"Woah!" Soul jumped, his foot slipping so he landed on the floor in a heap. He looked up to see his meister towering above him. "Oh, hey Maka."

"Don't 'Hey Maka' me!" she retorted, her hands on her hips. "You were trying to sneak out weren't you? Where? What if you had gotten caught?" Soul just blinked at her. "By someone other than me."

"I was just going to meet an old friend who's in town. I wasn't even going to leave Death City. I was coming right back," Soul explained. He realised he was still lying on the floor so tried to regain some dignity by climbing back to his feet.

"An old friend?" Maka asked, curiosity sparkling in her eyes. Soul gave her a knowing look. "All you had to do was ask! I'll come with you!"

"You will?" Soul replied, somewhat begrudgingly.

"Of course!" Maka said too brightly. She looked from him to the window. "But we'll use the front door."

Ten minutes later the pair of them were walking through the streets of Death City under the heat of the panting sun. Maka could barely contain her curiosity. "So...who is this friend?"

"Just a friend of the family, we were real close before I left to come to Shibusen. We haven't spoken much since so this could be kind of awkward," Soul explained.

"You never talk about your family or friends, this should be interesting," Maka practically bounced as they entered the meeting place.

"Yeah, I think you'll like her..."

"Wait; 'her'?" Maka suddenly stopped and Soul nearly walked into her. He decided to ignore her comment and looked around. The square was unusually empty, his friend not being present.

"She probably got lost, I'm gonna go check round the corner," Soul ran off before Maka could process what he said, still hung up on the fact that his friend was female. She didn't know why it bothered her so much, but it did. Soul had already disappeared round the corner before Maka thought to stop him. She made to hurry after him, but a bolt of lightning blocked her path.

Maka recognised Havar immediately, but not the guy who was wielding him. The lanky Multi-Meister grinned and readied another attack. She tried to dodge round him so that she could get to her partner, but Diego wouldn't let up "Soul!"

The second lightning attack missed so Diego changed to close range combat. He swung the staff round and hit the back of Maka's knees sending her to the ground. He spun the staff and brought the spiky end down, but she rolled onto her back and kicked out, deflecting the attack. She flipped back onto her feet and landed a right hook.

A flare lit up the sky above the alleyway. Maka took advantage of the distraction to dart past Diego, who no longer seemed concerned with fighting her. She ran around the corner and stared down the empty alley, worry for her partner making her fall to her knees.

"_Soul..."_

-:-

_**Please review in a manner that leaves the review count at 8. 8 is a perfectly symmetrical number you see, and symmetry is beauty.**_

**:P**


	2. Message

Soul Eater -:- Manga Verse

**Stolen: Shibusen's Weapons find New Meisters?**

**Summary: **

A mysterious organisation plots against Shibusen, stealing the student weapons to strengthen their own armoury. The meisters fight back, but can they win without their partners?

**Disclaimer: **Not mine.

**Author's Notes:**

Thanks to Ultimate Mask and DeluluandOroro Platoon for reviewing, and thanks to everyone else who read, favourited and/or alerted this fic! (However Kid is not happy that the review count does not equal 8...though he finds 2 acceptable; it is divisible after all...) :P

Enjoy!

* * *

**C****hapter**** T****wo**** -:- Message**

_**Things did not look good for Shibusen as a Death Scythe fell into the enemy's hands. The Multi-Meisters had already proven that they could wield the demon weapons, and suspicions spread that the weapons **_**willingly**_** surrendered to their will. Some Shibusen meisters even gave up on their partners, something that I, Maka and Black Star could never do. **_

_**The Multi-Meisters, meanwhile, began implementing their plans. Their goal was to own every demon weapon in existence; and as such build the greatest armoury ever imagined. All this to spite Shibusen's tradition of a singular meister/weapon pairing - a rule rarely enforced or even acknowledged by the school. Was this really their true goal? Or is there more to this group than a petty argument?**_

-:-

**The Selection**

**-:-**

Pain was the first thing Soul felt as he clawed his way back to consciousness. Initially he couldn't tell what hurt, or even remember why, but once he peeled his eyes open it hit him. The dull light allowed him to adjust his eyes quickly as he scanned the dungeon-like room. It was candle-lit with bare stone walls and a damp smell. He guessed he was underground by the lack of windows. The source of pain was primarily from his arms, although his head hurt too. Chains were manacled to his wrists which were suspended from the ceiling, taking all of his weight as he dangled a few inches from the ground.

He remembered going into town with Maka to meet his friend. He remembered the look on Maka's face, akin to jealousy, when he mentioned that said friend was female. That made him smile even now as he hung from a ceiling. He remembered darting off down the alley, a foolish move even by his standards, and immediately confronting his friend. Tabby had given him a guilty and slightly apologetic look before he'd been struck from behind.

Soul internally chastised himself for being so stupid. He got himself caught. He thought again of Maka and her constant worrying over him as all the other weapons had been taken. His stupidity had led to the realisation of her worst fear. He sent out a silent apology and hoped he wouldn't receive one heck of a Maka-chop when he next saw her

If he ever saw her.

"Soul...? Are you awake?" came a quiet voice from behind him. He recognised it as Tsubaki and managed to twist round slightly so that he could see her. He gave her a grin that belied his actual thoughts in the situation. "Are you okay?"

"Peachy," Soul replied, he jangled his chains experimentally, and then gave another sharp-toothed grin. "Can't believe I got myself caught, Maka's gonna kill me."

Tsubaki gave him a weak smile in reply, and then continued to look thoroughly miserable. It was obvious that she missed Black Star and felt like she had let him down.

Soul let her have her silence as he looked around at the other captives, each in a slightly varying shade of exhausted, lonely and sad. At the back and chained directly to the wall was Havar, Fire and Thunder, the two small earth shamans sharing the same set of human sized shackles – one dangled from the arm set while the other sat on the floor, arms held up in surrender by the foot set. All three of them were beaten up and unconscious. The Thompson sisters had been tied back to back and around the waist to a post that was buried in both floor and ceiling; their eyes glazed over as they stared ahead at nothing. Jacqueline and Tsubaki were strung up in a similar way to Soul, who found himself at the front of the collection. There were others that Soul didn't recognise but he assumed were Shibusen students.

Tsubaki appeared to be the most responsive there so Soul turned to her. "What's going on? What's happened? Who are they? Have they said anything that could help us get out of here?"

Tsubaki blinked as she processed each of Soul's questions in turn. "We don't know much. They call themselves the Multi-Meisters..." Soul snorted, apologised and motioned for her to continue. "Every now and again a group of them come down, pick a couple of us, force us into weapon form and leave. Sometimes we come back like Havar, Fire and Thunder – beaten up as punishment for not working just right. Sometimes we don't come back at all."

"That doesn't sound good," Soul stated the obvious, not knowing what else to say. He looked around at the weapons again, noting their expressions. They looked as if they were suffering from withdrawal symptoms, as if they could no longer properly function without their partners. Soul's thoughts strayed back to Maka again.

"Soul..." Tsubaki murmured, making him give her a worried look. She smiled though, so he assumed it was just exhaustion that was making her voice weak. "How did you get caught? I thought Maka would've had you under permanent watch."

A guilty look crossed his features as he gave her the condensed version. "That's kinda why I got caught. She wouldn't leave me alone so I kinda...ran off..." He shrugged awkwardly as the chains restricted his movement. "It sounds stupid I know."

Tsubaki smiled knowingly as if she had predicted that very occurrence. She knew her friends so well as she always quietly watched them and looked out for them. When the Thompson sisters had first been brought in and explained what Kid had done she had almost laughed with the familiarity. While she was trapped there all she found herself doing was imagining what Black Star and the others were doing. She hoped Black Star wasn't getting into trouble, but doubtless, she knew he was.

The silence they had fallen into was broken by the loudest, most clichéd creaking of the dungeon door. The one who had opened it even cringed a little as it echoed around the cellar. A whole troupe of people entered, each wearing dark clothes and greedy expressions as they eyed up their prizes. Itsuki, the leader led them in, and then came to a stop in front of Soul who unconsciously shied back as best he could given his position. Among the group was Diego and Nadia, and Soul instantly recognised his _old friend_ Tabby. She shifted slightly under his accusatory gaze.

Itsuki turned his back on the weapons, and addressed his followers. Soul wished he had enough upper-body strength left so that he could lift himself slightly and drop-kick the guy in the back. As satisfying as that would be he also knew it would probably just get him into more trouble, so he kept the urge to himself. "The time has finally come..."

Soul couldn't resist rolling his eyes.

"...we now have the strongest weapons in Shibusen in our possession. For too long that _school_ has prevented us from reaching our true potential, ignoring our ability to wield _any_ weapon by limiting us to _one_. The weapon/meister relationship is overrated, a point we shall prove today. We shall take the very weapons they have forged this _bond_ with and use them against them. We shall laugh as they fear to raise a hand against their _partners._ We shall crush Shibusen and make ourselves stronger than anyone! We are multi-weapon meisters, and we shall prove our superiority!"

Itsuki ended his well gestured and perfectly pronounced speech with a self-respecting nod. He received a motivated applause from his gathered group and more than a few cheers, all of which served to both boost his ego and tickle Soul, who internally laughed at Itsuki's motives. He knew he should take the group more seriously, especially as they had him and several other weapons captive, but he couldn't help but laugh.

"We shall begin by choosing a weapon each. Then we shall divide into teams of three and infiltrate Shibusen from several angles. Some groups will serve as distractions and will need to make their approach as loud as possible. Others will have to move as silently as night and sneak in. Once inside the goal is to rid as many meisters of their weapons as possible, as well as rid Shibusen of as many meisters as possible. The ultimate aim is to capture the Death Room and hold Shinigami at our mercy. Does everyone understand?" Itsuki waited until he received a roomful of nods. He gestured behind him. "Pick your weapon..."

"I want that one!" Tabby said immediately, pointing at Soul. Irritation crossed over several faces, including Soul's. She pushed her way to the front of the crowd and stood between Itsuki and him.

Both Diego and Nadia pushed their way forward as well, standing before Itsuki. They spoke at the same time, their voices mingling into each other and confusing their words, but the general gist was clear: "How comes _she_ gets the Death Scythe? I want it! She's the _New Girl_ but I've been loyal since forever! Please Itsuki! Please!"

Itsuki silenced them with a hand, his own irritation obvious. "The rule is that the first person to call a weapon is the one that gets it." He seemed to instantly regret making that very rule. "As such the Death Scythe goes to...her."

Tabby stuck her tongue out at the snobbish pair who glared at her as if she were scum on their shoes. Soul almost smiled at her immaturity, some things never change, but then immediately sobered when he realised his current situation was her fault. Itsuki handed her the key to his chains, which she then unlocked. The second he was released he felt a sudden pain in his chest as he was forced into weapon form. Proudly flaunting her prize, Tabby stalked over to the edge of the room and waited for the others to pick their weapons so that she could be told her team.

"Okay then. Everyone else, please pick your weapon."

* * *

_**The Multi-Meisters began to make their move, armed with the strongest weapons; their target: Shibusen. We meanwhile, we were apparently not in any way concerned or indeed in any situation that may require the slightest amount of concern at all...according to my father.**_

_**Once Soul had been taken, a distraught Maka had begged Shinigami to declare some sort of war or at least try and find out what the hell was going on. In response, my father had held an emergency meeting. However, when a situation is serious you can always count on him to be as unserious as possible.**_

_**All this served to do was frustrate Maka, and indeed pretty much every other meister in Shibusen. As a team, the three of us, Maka, Black Star and I, decided to find our weapons ourselves. However, this proved to be difficult without any clues to go on...**_

-:-

**Doppelgangers**

**-:-**

The three meisters marched with purpose out of Shibusen's gates and into Death City. The purpose quickly dissolved from their steps as they realised they had no actual direction to head in. They all paused at the same time as they struggled to think of a logical next step.

Black Star suddenly jumped, an idea forming. He grinned intensely as he turned on Maka. "As the man who shall surpass God, I delegate the task of finding our partners to you Maka! Use your human radar thing to track them down or whatever!"

Maka sighed sadly, having already tried to use her soul perception several times since Soul's disappearance. She never had been good at pinning down a specific soul before, and she feared now that the weapons were under the enemy's control it would be even harder. "I've already tried that Black Star, it won't work."

Kid felt his hopes die, but Black Star refused to give up. "Go on Maka, give it another go, it might work now."

Never had a statement been more ironic. Maka sighed, disgruntled, closing her eyes. After only a moment of concentration, she felt the familiar presence of Soul. She blinked her eyes open in surprise. She looked at Black Star who had a wide, smug grin on his face. "I...I think I just found them..."

"Actually, we found you."

All three meisters looked up at the voice, their surprise drowned out by the flood of emotions that followed. Relief came first as they each saw their weapons. The team of three Multi-Meisters consisted of Nadia, wielding Liz and Patti, Diego, brandishing Tsubaki, and Tabby, Soul slung lazily over her shoulder. Anger came next as the meisters saw the people that held their partners. Finally, especially for Maka, came jealousy. Their relationship with their weapons was special, how dare these fakes just swan in and steal them?

"Give them back." Black Star growled dangerously as he sized up Diego, who he had promised to kill. Maka and Kid seconded his statement, their demeanour giving off nothing but contempt for their enemies.

Diego smirked at Black Star, casually swinging Tsubaki's chain as she was in Kusarigama mode. The very motion made Black Star quake with anger, his fists curling by his sides. "I don't think I will. Nadia, do you want to give those shiny guns back?" His associate shook her head, her expression matching his. He didn't acknowledge Tabby. "I think we'll be keeping them. You could try and take them back by force I suppose...if that were even possible."

The challenge dangled like bait in front of Black Star. It was like purposely flashing a red cloth in front of a charging bull. Diego received the desired response as the blue-haired ninja assassin lost control and thundered at him.

"Wait, we're meant to...never mind," Nadia half heartedly shrugged, no longer concerned with their stealth part of the mission when there was fun to be had. She watched Diego and Black Star exchange a few blows while keeping an eye on the other two meisters, who were currently remaining in control.

Diego bounced back from Black Star recognising his stance as 'Black Star Big Wave', and remembering the effect it had had on his fellow Multi-Meister. The fight paused as the two faced each other in a standoff. Arrogance fuelled Diego as he decided to try something. He forced Soul Resonance onto Tsubaki: "Enchanted Sword Mode!"

Tsubaki transformed into the black demon blade as dark tattoos swallowed Diego's face. He grinned maniacally as he felt the power course through him. Black Star stared in shock, and then relaxed, not all concerned. Diego had a brief moment to laugh at the boy's stupidity before realising his mistake. He could feel his energy being drained at an enormous rate, forcing him to drop the blade and then drop to the ground in exhaustion. He could do nothing but glare at Black Star as he tried to regain his strength.

Nadia flipped her perfect hair, and then expertly twirled the twin pistols round her fingers until they were seated comfortably in her hands. She even held the triggers with her pinkie fingers, much to Kid's annoyance. What annoyed Kid more however, was her stance. Completely symmetrical. Though he knew he had to defeat her to regain his weapons, his brain couldn't process the idea of ruining the perfect balance the damned woman had achieved. He cursed himself, but then noticed a minute detail.

Nadia's performance was even more pathetic than Diego's. Her aim was perfect and she was a sharpshooter, but her resonance wasn't strong enough to power the bullets. Kid had seen the usual .38 had been reduced to a mere .16 – not even enough to scratch the shinigami. He stared her down, not even needing to move in order to beat her.

"Well that was a steaming pile of fail." Tabby commented from the sidelines.

The perfect stance collapsed as Nadia tried to figure out what had gone wrong. Kid felt no need to explain. She turned to the last remaining member of their team, a note of pleading in her tone, almost completely covered up by her contempt for Tabby. "New Girl...don't just stand there...do something!"

"I don't think I want to follow that performance," Tabby curtly replied, looking both disinterested and disgusted; a difficult look to master.

While the pair argued, Black Star snuck toward the fallen Diego and his dropped weapon, using his ninja skills in an uncharacteristically quiet way. However when he was a mere inch from Tsubaki he was blocked by Soul, or more specifically, the Multi-Meister wielding him. Tabby looked at him with none of the hatred she had for her fellow Multi-Meisters. "You don't want to do that."

"Give Soul back."

Tabby glanced up at Maka who was positively shaking with fury. If looks could kill, Tabby would have been a puddle on the floor. Tabby knocked Black Star back with the top of Soul's staff so that the three meisters were lined up next to each other. She then swung Soul around so that he was once again lazily leaning on her shoulder. Cockiness punctuated her voice as she gave her challenge

"Tell you what, let's have a wager. I'll take the three of you on at once. If I win, you back off and let us pass. If you win, I'll let you have Tsubaki, Liz and Patti back."

Both Kid and Nadia looked confused at Tabby's use of the weapon's actual names, but Maka was too angry to hear it. "I want Soul back."

Tabby smiled, "okay then. You three win, you get them back. You win against me in a one on one after...I might think about giving Soul back."

This seemed to be enough for Maka who immediately launched herself at Tabby. The Multi-Meister twisted Soul around so that the bottom end of his staff hit Maka in the gut, sending her flying backwards. Immediately Kid was on her from above, flipping his jet-powered skateboard at her. Again she deflected, this time using the back of the blade, then swinging round so that the staff tripped his feet and sent him tumbling into the ground.

She sensed Black Star behind her and whirled, throwing Soul in front of her to shield her from the attack. The ninja froze an inch from Soul, his Big Wave attack fizzling in his hands. Tabby recognised that Black Star couldn't hurt Soul "Oh, I see."

She flicked the bottom of Soul's staff so that it caught Black Star in the knee, and then spun again so that the back of the blade smacked his shoulder and sent him flying. By which point Maka had recovered, but her anger made her punches blind and easily deflectable. Using a series of blocks Tabby easily held Maka back. She then stabbed Soul into the ground, using him as leverage to throw herself into a high kick. Her feet connected with Maka's chest, knocking the breath from her and throwing her onto her back.

While Tabby was dealing with Maka, Black Star tried to sneak up on her again, his Big Wave attack ready. Knowing his weakness, Tabby simply swung Soul into the attacks way, making Black Star falter and the attack miss. Realising it would take a lot to keep him down; she smacked him upside the head with a little more force than would normally be needed. Black Star was unconscious before he hit the ground.

Kid attacked her next, trying to distract her with his skateboard while he attacked from the other side. Tabby effortlessly deflected both attacks by spinning Soul above her head. Both Skateboard and shinigami were thrown back, an accidental hit to the head rendering Kid as out cold as Black Star.

Maka watched Tabby twirl Soul and felt her own insecurities come flooding back. She was back in the chapter of Envy in the Book of Eibon trying to twirl a broomstick while several other girls laughed at her lack of skills. She was watching Soul fight for her as she was so weak she felt she couldn't trust him anymore. She was watching as he was injured trying to protect her.

Jealousy made her move before she should have. Anger made her miss the perfect opportunity to exploit the gap in Tabby's defence. Weakness made her fall as Soul smacked into her face.

Through half-closed eyes she saw the expression on Tabby's face change from confidence to caution. Her voice sounded miles away as she turned to her teammates. "We've drawn too much attention, we failed the mission. We need to pull back...shit, they're coming..."

"What do we do?" that was Nadia, Maka thought to herself; trying to focus, move, anything other than lie there.

"Use Tsubaki's smoke bomb mode, then we'll make a run for it."

"Smoke bomb...what?" Diego is so thick, Maka groggily giggled. She briefly wondered if her hit to the head had been that hard.

"Just say 'Tsubaki: Smoke Bomb Mode'"

"Err...Smoke Bomb Mode?"

A cloud of smoke appeared, engulfing the trio and most of the surrounding area. The reinforcements had that had magically appeared could no longer see their enemy or follow them. Something fluttered near Maka as the smoke slowly began to clear. Slowly she adjusted herself so that she could reach the white thing, not realising it was a card until she held touched it.

Her mind cleared in time with the smoke. She was barely aware of the reinforcement group running around to check things out and make sure the three of them were okay. She just stared at the card in her hand, and felt hope.

* * *

_**Are things finally looking up for Shibusen? Or is this white card just false hope?**_

_**You won't find out until the review count reaches precisely 8 and I achieve my symmetry! Well...you might if I'm feeling nice...as long as it's an even number!**_

:P


	3. Battle Royale

Soul Eater -:- Manga Verse

**Stolen: Shibusen's Weapons find New Meisters?**

**Summary: **

A mysterious organisation plots against Shibusen, stealing the student weapons to strengthen their own armoury. The meisters fight back, but can they win without their partners?

**Disclaimer: **Not mine.

**Author's Notes:**

Thanks to Ember Hinote, mlkduds009, Rin Winters, The RPErs Hell Group and Delfinia4 for reviewing, however while making me extremely happy and grateful, you have greatly displeased Kid who is currently blubbing over the odd number _**"...asymmetrical garbage..."**_...nobody say 7... :P

Enjoy!

* * *

**C****hapter**** T****hree**** -:- Battle Royale**

_**Of all things, the little white piece of paper was a business card. A Multi-Meisters business card – complete with address and telephone number...**_

_**I began to doubt the Multi-Meisters as a serious opponent despite all of their success so far. So they had managed to steal our partners, hold them captive and other generally evil things; but they were just **_**so stupid.**_** Their reasons made no sense, their skills left plenty to be desired and well...the name...**_

_**But back to us and our retaliation. Now that we had the information we needed we planned our attack. A small team was formed, Maka, Black Star and I along with Ox, Kilik and Kim. We would also be bringing...Spirit. In order to protect his precious daughter the Death Scythe had insisted on being her weapon, despite their lack of compatibility. We had yet to see if Maka could even resonate with her dad; we simply had no time.**_

_**And so our revenge...I mean rescue...began.**_

-:-

**Infiltration**

-:-

The mismatched building was shrouded in thick shadows as the team approached. They had made it through the thick jungle of a garden and right up to the windows without a single hint of being detected. The next task was to find the damn door. They divided into pairs and scouted around, a bird call being decided as the confirmation.

Maka and Kid, and Spirit, snuck around to where they assumed was the back of the building. After what seemed an age of searching, made worse by Maka's worry, they eventually found the impossible to find door. Kid made the call in perfect pitch, and they waited for the rest of the team. It didn't take long for the troupe to gather, each of them anxious to get their partners back.

"You ready for this?" Kid asked the group. He waited until he received a nod from everyone, including Spirit, before he eased open the door. They were aiming for stealth; hence why Black Star didn't lead. They found themselves at the start of an epically long corridor that twisted at some point up ahead so that couldn't see the end. The floor and walls were plain and in a state of disrepair, Kid trying his hardest not to look at the unsymmetrical damage.

They followed the corridor until they reached a fork. They had already decided before hand that they would at no point separate, so after a quick debate and a check with Maka's soul perception, they took the left. They kept up this routine until they were deep within the rabbit warren. Sometimes the corridors opened into small round rooms that were completely empty. They would pick a door and continue down yet another corridor.

"This place is a great hideout," Maka commented, gritting her teeth in irritation and impatience. "It's purposely designed to drive you crazy before you even get to the bad guys."

Spirit gave Maka a sympathetic pat on the shoulder which she shrugged off. Her father looked hurt, but chose not to make a fuss. They reached another choice and she consulted her soul perception. "We're close. That door up there. On the other side is a room with...six meister souls in. Our partners are further inside the maze, but we have to get past these guys first."

"Nothing can stop our perfect father/daughter combo, Maka!" Spirit replied enthusiastically, a grin on his face. Maka gave him a look that had the same deflating effect as a good Maka chop.

"Alright, let's do this," Kid ignored the drama and walked right up to the door Maka had pointed to. He too could sense the souls on the other side. He would never admit out loud how relieved he was that there were only meisters and no weapons in the room. If they had the weapons, he could beat them without his own, and Black Star probably could too, but he doubted that the rest of the group could. With a readying breath, he kicked down the door.

"What the...?"

"Who the...?"

"Oh Hell."

The six gathered Multi-Meisters were the unnamed, faceless types. The only difference Kid could draw between them from a first glance was that they were colour coded. He jumped out and incapacitated the nearest Red Shirt, the rest of the team following.

Kilik and Black Star worked together, taking out Green Jacket and Blue Shirt with a punch each. Kim leapt forward to take out Black Coat, but Ox dived between them, driving his foot into Black Coat's face in a spectacular high kick. He even added a 'Kyah!' for dramatic effect. Kim gave an exasperated sigh, deciding not to point out that he had already won her over. She sensed another guy behind her but didn't react, knowing that Ox was already on the case. He roundhouse kicked Yellow Jumper then gave Kim a wink.

Spirit witnessed this and turned towards the last guy. Scarlett Shirt. _**What? Two guys had red shirts on, okay?**_ The Death Scythe rolled up his sleeves dramatically, making Scarlett Shirt shiver in fear. Before Spirit could perform his protector act however, Maka gave Scarlett Shirt a right hook that floored him in an instant. As Spirit deflated his sleeves slid dejectedly back down.

"Huh, well that was easy," Black Star commented as he surveyed the broken bodies. He smirked cockily. "Guess they couldn't handle the Great Me, Black Star, the man who will surpass God!"

"I don't think that was it, Black Star," Kid replied, his eyes glued to the door opposite the one they had come in by. It was slammed open to reveal several more Multi-Meisters, these ones armed. "They just weren't the big players."

A freshly recovered Diego entered, lazily swinging Tsubaki, knowing the action annoyed Black Star. Nadia now wielded Fire and Thunder. She tapped the glove-like weapons together with a smirk, identifying Kilik as their former-meister by the way his hands clenched. Two others followed; one carrying Jacqueline in her lantern form and the other pointing Havar threateningly, lightening glistening from the tip.

"Seems we have some intruders," Diego stated coyly. He turned his head to Nadia. "What do you think we should do with them?"

She flicked her hair, "Kill them."

"Excellent."

Chaos erupted in an instant. Kid summoned his skateboard and used it to attack Nadia. Kilik followed his attack, his attention completely on his stolen weapons. In response, Nadia lit up Pot of Fire and aimed to punch Kilik. Kid jumped in and used the skateboard as a shield. Nadia followed up with Pot of Thunder, the lightening attack cracking the weakened board and rendering it useless.

At the same time Black Star leapt into a fight with Diego. The Multi-Meister could skilfully wield Tsubaki in Kusarigama mode and didn't seem likely to make the same mistake her had earlier and use Enchanted Sword mode. He wouldn't let Black Star in close enough to use Big Wave, so the loudmouthed ninja tried to change the fight into an aerial battle. He tricked Diego into aiming low then jumped and flipped in the air, aiming to land a kick to the head. Diego blocked with the second scythe of Tsubaki, sending Black Star back to square one.

Kim and Ox split up to take on the two unnamed Multi-Meisters that wielded their weapons. They each exchanged blows but neither seemed able to gain the upper hand. Spirit turned to Maka, "Which one shall we fight?"

"None," Maka replied, making her father blink. She had realised that all the Multi-Meisters were distracted. "Let's use this to our advantage and keep moving. I want Soul back."

Spirit studied his daughter for a moment, marvelling at her dedication. He nodded, "Got it, let's go."

The unlikely team managed to sneak past the fights and through the slightly broken door. They walked through backwards to keep an eye of the Multi-Meisters and make sure they weren't noticed. Once through the door, they turned around and froze.

"You."

"Oh...hi," Tabby tried to hide her surprise with a smile and little wave. Soul in scythe form was leaning against her shoulder. There was nervousness in her voice. "Fancy seeing you here."

* * *

_**We made it inside the Multi-Meister's hideout and were another step closer to getting our weapons back. Things were going well, considering we were unarmed and they were. Maybe we'd finally find out what their ulterior motive was...if they had one.**_

-:-

**Clash of the Death Scythes**

-:-

Maka glared at Tabby, her hatred in no way concealed. Tabby on the other hand just looked wide-eyed at the other girl's presence. Maka didn't even look at Spirit; "Dad, change." Spirit did as he was told, transforming into his black, cross-like, Death Scythe form. Maka caught him and spun him like she always did with Soul. She wasn't suffering from any of the consequences of forced resonance, which was a major relief.

Tabby glanced at Soul, an action that made Maka grit her teeth. She then looked back at Maka. "I really don't want to fight you."

"Well tough, cause I really want to kick your ass!"

Maka closed the distance between them in a second, swinging Spirit down. Instinct made Tabby block rather than dodge, and the fight began. They both pushed against each other and then jumped back, leaving a couple of ft between them. Maka panted heavily as she tried to get her anger under control. She failed though as she lunged forward again, swinging Spirit in a horizontal arc. Tabby blocked again, but Maka changed tactics and pivoted Spirit around her waist so that he hit from the other side. Tabby saw the attack and used Soul as leverage so that she stopped the scythe with her feet. She pushed off and flipped over, smoothly twisting and swiping Soul around in a counter-attack. Maka darted back to avoid the hit.

Tabby seemed to have forgotten that she didn't want to fight Maka. After the pause she was the first one to move. She aimed low, making Maka jump to avoid the swing. She then continued round, using her momentum to speed up the attack, catching Maka in ribs with the staff before her feet could return to the floor. The blow was hard enough to send Maka flying. She slammed through the remnants of the broken door and back into the first room. She slammed Spirit's blade into the ground to slow her skid. She stopped, breathing heavily as her arm wrapped around her bruised side. Concerned, Spirit yelled "Maka! Are you okay?"

Maka ignored him and everyone else who had halted to stare at them in surprise. She just glared at the red head who stepped through the doorway, holding Soul as if he were hers. Kid and Black Star saw the expression on Maka's face and briefly felt sorry for Tabby. Neither of them would willingly fight her when she was that angry and determined.

"I thought you'd be tougher," Tabby commented thoughtfully, not actually intending to offend. She looked surprised when her comment invoked a rage-fuelled response from Maka. Yelling unintelligibly, Maka launched herself at Tabby, once again throwing Spirit in a wide arc. The red-head didn't even bother blocking, instead ducking out of the scythes path. She then used a simple leg sweep to bring Maka tumbling to the floor. She brought Soul up and over her head, aiming to hack at her opponent. But Maka rolled and flipped back onto her feet, Soul digging into the ground. "Damn."

"Give Soul back!" Maka screamed as she swung Spirit at her. Tabby leapt into the air and flipped backwards so that Spirit sliced the thin air between her and Soul's staff. She then grabbed hold of him and used her own gravity to yank him out of the ground and back into her hands. She landed in a crouch and looked up at a surprised Maka. The silver-haired meister looked at her opponent with a mix of awe and jealousy. Jealousy was more prominent. "Why are you so good?"

Maka began a series of strikes that Tabby managed to block while replying. "The difference between you and me isn't skill." She grunted as she blocked a particular hard strike. "It's experience. I can tell you've never wielded that Death Scythe before; but I've worked with Soul plenty of times."

"What?" Maka paused, her breath coming in short gasps.

Tabby took the opportunity to create some distance between them then spun Soul around familiarly. She smiled, not unkindly. "I'm Soul's first meister."

Tabby's words echoed around the room, causing confusion. Soul's friends wondered why he had never told them that he had had another meister, this then causing them to disbelief the redhead. The Multi-Meisters couldn't tell if Tabby was making a cocky statement or was admitting to some secret. They came to the conclusion that as she was fighting the intruders she could at least temporarily be trusted.

Maka's opinion was expressed in two very simple words. "You Liar!"

"Woah!" Maka's attack had managed to catch Tabby off guard, her block barely going up in time. Maka followed up faster than before, and Tabby had to adjust her fighting style to make up for her opponents sudden change. She had no opportunity to get on the offensive, Maka's impressive onslaught forcing her to be entirely defensive. The pair whirled and spun in a crazy dance that left all but one of the audience in awe.

Nadia crept up behind Maka, Pot of Thunder at the ready to crush her skull. Tabby spotted the sneak attack and changed from a block into a wide horizontal swing. Maka did as she was told when she heard Soul's voice "Maka! Duck!"

Soul soared over her head and sliced straight through Nadia, her face drawn into a comical 'o'.

"Huh...my bad." Tabby commented with mock innocence.

"You little traitor!" Diego yelled, suddenly right next to her. He had Tsubaki raised above his head in a motion to strike her down. Before he even had a chance though, Tabby sliced through him as well. She transferred Soul to her left hand and caught Tsubaki as she gave into gravity. Without a second glance at Diego's floating soul, Tabby slung the kusarigama at Black Star who caught her easily.

"What the hell?" was the room's general thought process.

Maka on the other hand, turned to look straight at Soul, looking him in the eye at the base of his blade. "What the hell is going on?"

There was a pause as Tabby glanced at Soul apologetically. The scythe then sighed "I'll explain everything in a minute"

"We should probably take care of them first," Tabby finished, gesturing at the two unnamed Multi-Meisters. They gulped as Maka turned her angry eyes on them. In barely more than a few seconds, both Multi-Meisters were reduced to floating souls. Ox, Kim and Kilik retrieved their weapons. Tabby saw their concerned looks as they felt no response from their partners. "They'll turn back once the influence has worn off, don't worry."

"Shut up you," Maka snapped as both Soul and Spirit returned to their human forms. She glared at her partner, actually making him flinch. "Explain."

Soul put his hands up in surrender, and then pointed at Tabby "It's all her fault."

"Hey!"

"What, it's the truth," Soul shrugged.

"It being true doesn't make me any more grateful."

* * *

_**As Tabby appeared to now be on our side, Maka managed to keep a lid on her rage...for a while. Tabby and Soul led us to the underground, dungeon-like armoury where we were finally reunited with our partners. Finally we could put an end to this battle.**_

_**Well...not quite.**_

-:-

**The Vault**

-:-

"It's very simple really," Tabby began when Maka ordered her to explain herself and her earlier comment. She perched herself on the edge of a fake window-sill (there were no windows) as the others set about unlocking their partners.

"I'm a meister from Shibusen's sister academy on the East Coast. My family know Soul's so I've known him since forever. It was just good timing that my partner got expelled and Soul found out he was a demon weapon at the same time. He didn't join the academy but Shinigami-sama let us work together. We got to...96 souls, before Soul decided he had to run away..."

"I didn't run away!" Soul interrupted, earning himself a few concerned glances. Maka looked the most worried, this whole situation making her realise how little she knew about him and his family. Was it because he never wanted to talk about it, or because she never asked?

"Err...yeah you did," Tabby replied with a roll of her eyes. "But I won't reveal his reasons because that's personal. Anyway, because I managed to get so far with him before he buggered off, Shinigami-sama made me a two-star meister..."

"Wait, you're a two-star?" this time Maka interrupted, her jealousy multiplying. She then realised something and turned to her father. "If this is true, shouldn't you know about it?"

Spirit shrugged. "Shinigami-sama doesn't tell me everything you know. Especially about the sister academy. It's not directly involved with the day-to-day stuff at Shibusen so it's no surprise I don't know about this."

"Anyway," Tabby brought the conversation back to her story. "I was made a two-star and given the role of like, a social worker. My job is to go to families that have been known to have the demon weapon bloodline and check if the latest generation has it. If they do I help them learn about their abilities and help them settle into the nearest academy."

"What are you doing here then? That's got nothing to do with undercover stuff," Black Star asked, talking again now that Tsubaki had safely reverted back to her human form. All the weapons were tired and battered, but at least they were safe.

"Her weapon got nicked," Soul answered. "She used me to get in so that she could find it and get it back."

"How long have you been in on this?" Spirit asked accusatorily.

"About 30 minutes after waking up in here," Soul replied, obviously not happy about the whole thing. He turned to his former-meister. "A heads-up would've been nice."

"I thought you would have got it from the letter," Tabby retorted. "And that was such a simplified version of my awesome plan." It was Soul's turn to roll his eyes. Maka watched how they interacted and it made her blood boil. "Right, my partner got nabbed, so I followed the trail back here and decided it might possibly not be a good idea to storm the place on my own. I found out some info on them and decided the best way was to join them. In order to do that I needed leverage. I knew they wanted a Death Scythe, so I got them Soul. Everything was great and they finally let me in here, but my partner isn't here. Therefore I had to become a Multi-Meister properly so I didn't get kicked out."

"A slight problem with that though," Soul continued. "She isn't a Multi-Meister."

"Nope, not at all. Therefore it was a _really_ good thing that I had dragged Soul into this, because I can wield Soul as I've done it before. That's when I told him what was going on. Then things went downhill as these guys decided they wanted to attack Shibusen. I went along with it, sorry about that fight, by the way. But it did give me a chance to leave that card. And that brings us up to now."

"Doesn't explain why you fought Maka," Kid pointed out.

"She wasn't taking no for an answer," Tabby turned to her rival. "You need to learn to take a hint. What part of 'I don't want to fight you' did you not get?"

Maka clenched both fists and gritted her teeth. In her mind she was going over all the ways she could kill Tabby Malone, each of them extremely painful.

"So where is your weapon?" Tsubaki asked, slightly more alert than she had been.

"In the vault," Tabby replied simply. "My partner is way too stubborn and difficult. None of them could use her so they locked her up. It's this way." She hopped to her feet and disappeared down a corridor. Maka, Soul, and Spirit followed her, but the rest stayed in the Armoury.

At the end of the corridor there was an ordinary door. Behind this door was another door, the key for which magically appeared in Tabby's hand. With the Vault open, they stepped inside. Shelves full of random, expensive looking items lined two walls, and a stolen painting was hung up at the back. Lying in the middle of the floor though, was a Tessen.

"Hey Kitty, I came to get you," Tabby murmured warmly. Immediately the Tessen flashed blue and returned to its human form. A three-year-old girl complete with blonde pig-tails and blue eyes. She looked as though she had been crying, but she had a big smile on her face when she saw her meister.

"Tabby-Cat!" She squealed as she scrambled to feet and ran at the red-head. Tabby knelt down and swept her into a hug, then picked her up so that the small child sat on her hip. "You found me!"

"Of course I did, was there ever any doubt?" Tabby replied in mock irritation. She then turned to the others, the people she had used to get her partner back. "Oh come on. You'd do anything for her too, wouldn't you?"

Spirit, Maka and Soul gaped at the toddler. "But she's just a baby...she can't be your weapon..."

"I told you I was a social worker, right?" Tabby reminded them. "Well, I was sent to check on the Redmond bloodline, and I found her parents. We had a talk where I managed to get them to admit that they had a child. As it turns out, Kitty here is the youngest ever recorded weapon, achieving partial transformation at the age of two. Her parents didn't know what she was so they abandoned her. Even after I found her and explained what she was they didn't understand, so I look after her. And yeah, she kinda became my weapon."

"That's so sad!" Spirit blubbered, his paternal instincts on overdrive. "How could a parent do such a thing!"

"Oh. So it's _your_ weapon."

All of them swivelled at the voice. Standing just on the other side of the door was a tall man of Asian descent, Itsuki, the leader. He glared at them as if just his gaze could render them useless. Without a word Kitty returned to her Tessen form and Tabby prepared to fight, but Maka and Soul beat her to it. With an almost casual swing, they tore him in half, leaving only a floating soul in his wake. When Soul returned to human form he was standing facing Tabby and Maka had her back to him. The redhead pointed at her

"Scary woman."

-:-

_**And so the story ends. The Multi-Meisters were defeated and all our weapons were returned. Tabby and Kitty returned to the East Coast, after trying convince Soul to come home once in a while, and finally things began to return to normal. **_

_**Or as normal as they get at Shibusen. **_

* * *

Thank you to everyone who has read, reviewed, favourited and/or alerted this fic, I hope it's been as much fun to read as it has been to write :P

I have a few sequel ideas that may or may not include my OCs, depending on whether you guys like them or not. I've also got some angsty Soul stuff that I've already started writing and should be up soon.

And a final word from Kid:

_**I'm garbage! Asymmetrical garbage! Stripes on one side, but not the other? It's almost as bad as the number 7...I need 8 people! 8 I tell you!**_

(Or more...I'm not bothered :P)


End file.
